vball10set;1238358 wrote:Didn't they also used to get two chances at the vault?

I thought so, but can't remember. It's 2 vaults for the individual comp.

I can see the argument about second chances and dropping scores running counter to the goal of perfection, but to me it detracts from the drama & team angle, as well as perhaps limiting some risk taking because there's no margin for error. The last part hurts the viewing experience, IMO. And on a related note, a 2nd vault on qualifying day could have given that one girl another chance to get into the all-around. There are so many small errors and deductions, not to mention judging being far from perfect, that it just seems unfair to the athletes with these new rules.

It just seemed kind of lame where one athlete has a major error on one event and your team is in an almost insurmountable hole. Granted, they get to drop a score on qualifying day but isn't that more or less of a warm-up for the contenders? IMO they've bastardized the concept of a team competition in favor of 3 "individuals" competing as a team.

I thought the men's and women's gymnastic competitions were both pretty lame. Not to mention 2 athletes got kind of shafted since the women's team used to be 7 instead of 5.

Tiernan;1238471 wrote:Ya mean the one where I stuffed it down your throat there too? Yeah I kinda do remember that.

Really? Because I don't recall any such thing happening there. I don't think we even directly conversed in that thread. You might need to look over that thread to refresh your memory.

Here, I'll help you some.

Tiernan;1233685 wrote:Like it or not, in a world - wide opinion poll ESPN would far & wide be considered the world's foremost authority on sports. So their Top Ten List of Sports Rivalrys would be the majority opinion and thus the correct answer. Anyone disagreeing with this is Wrong and the argument should be over.

Here's one poll that was done before these Olympics started from ESPN:

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/post/_/id/8199570/us-summer-olympians

(Results have Phelps with 240k points (15k 1st place votes), Jesse Owens in second with 200k (6k 1st place votes))

Here is a second poll done after last night (remember, Phelps still has a few more events left to add to the total):

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/polls

(75% of the voters say Yes, Phelps is Greatest Olympian of All Time)

and I thought that gymnastics was on a 10 point scale.....that change too/

...and once again its established that most people on earth are Fk'n idiots.

LJ;1238474 wrote: I think that Phelps is the greatest Olympian in the modern Olympics.

Really depends on your criteria. Most decorated, no doubt. But IMO you can't base it on medals alone, and even WR's fall in swimming at an ungodly pace.

Carl Lewis dominated in a sport that draws from pretty much every corner of the globe. Even in the US, swimming is still somewhat of an "elitist" sport with many poor and even middle-income athletes not really having access. And there's no question the best athletes in the US gravitate toward the big money sports. Swimming seems way down the pecking order of sports kids would love and choose, behind even arguably more elitist sports like golf and tennis.

Notice how the US is almost non-existent in another endurance sport - distance running? That's because anyone can run, but in the US training and practicing for distance running absolutely sucks, like swimming does, relative to so many other sports kids play.

Tiernan;1238490 wrote:...and once again its established that most people on earth are Fk'n idiots.

Let me translate that for you. "I have no legs to stand on."

I forgot how much I missed Tiernan while he was away.

Fly4Fun;1238493 wrote:Let me translate that for you. "I have no legs to stand on."

That would make me the Worlds Greatest Paralypian.

Ridiculous ^^ No idea where the hell they found deductions on that.

Tiernan;1238490 wrote:...and once again its established that most people on earth are Fk'n idiots.

Exhibit A:http://www.ohiochatter.com/forum/member.php?1455-Tiernan

Couldn't beleive she didn't get a perfect score, that was BS!!

I'm not sure what perfect is if that was not perfect. Even some of the judges just had expressions of shock and awe.

Anyways, in swimming so far in the evening session. Both American's failed to medal in the 200 Breast. Kitajima (back to back Gold in 100 and 200 Breast in Athens and Beijing) failed to reach the podium in both of those events this time around.

Jessica Hardy and Missy Franklin both make the 100 Free final heat.

Elsewhere the USA Women's Indoor Volleyball team is taking on China.

Women's 200M Fly final is about to start.

We have 2 swimmers, Cammile Adams and Kathleen Hersey (has a shot at the Gold).

Hersey has a slow start, but catches up by the 50 and is 2nd or so, back to about 4th at the 100.

Hersey ends up 4th overall. She just looked lethargic compared to her semi-final swim.

Jiao (China) wins the Gold.

Up next is the Men's 100M Free

Only Nathan Adrian is representing the US. He has a shot at the podium, but the gold will be a challenge.

Adrian was 3rd at the turn, Magnussen makes a good push on the second 50.

Adrian finds something deep and wins the Gold!!! He won that in the last 8 or so meters. .01 victory for USA!

Adrian with the gold

That was a huge win for USA swimming. Matt Biondi in 1988 in Seoul was the last American male to win the 100M Free at the Olympics.

china should be docked at least two medals for fielding by far the ugliest women's volleyball team

USA v. China women's volleyball, USA was behind China but came back to take the 1st set!

Soni breaks the WR!

Rebecca Soni looks to be a favorite for the 200M Breast as she got the world record in the semi-final. 2:20.00.